Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (95558)	1/17/2005 4:21:56 AM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793914

Letter to the Editor - Cincinnati Inquirer. The good news you don't get from Iraq Cpl. Isaac D. Pacheco BAGHDAD, Iraq - Something struck me as odd this fall as I watched a U.S. satellite news broadcast here in my Baghdad office. Something just didn't seem right. There was the usual tug-of-war between presidential candidates, a story about the Boston Red Sox and a blurb about another explosion in Iraq. The latter story showed the expected images of smoke and debris and people frantically running for cover - images that have become the accepted norm in the minds of many Americans thanks, or should I say no thanks, to the media. There were no smiling soldiers, no mention of rebuilding efforts, no heartwarming stories about honor and sacrifice. I could swear I've seen that "stuff" here. I've become somewhat callused to this kind of seesaw reporting because every day I work with the news agencies that manufacture it. However, many service members shake their heads in frustration each time they see their daily rebuilding efforts ignored by the media in favor of the more "sensational" car bomb and rocket attack stories. Not to say that tragedies don't happen - Iraq is a war zone - but there is so much more happening that gets overlooked if not ignored. Army Sgt. Addie Collins' Kicks for Kids program is an example of this. Three months ago this Army Reservist from Los Angeles asked her friends and family to forgo sending the usual box of goodies, and instead send a few pairs of kid-sized shoes, which she would hand out to Iraqi children she'd seen walking barefoot. Friends and family told friends and family, and today, 10,000 pairs later, Collins is outfitting an entire Ramadi community with sneakers, sandals and boots. Where's her morning talk show appearance? Many others, military members and civilians who truly care about the Iraqi people and rebuilding their nation, have stories that mirror Collins'. Marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen are working hand-in-hand with the Iraqi people to build schools, pave roads and train police officers. In the process we're re- instilling the citizens of Iraq with a sense of national pride that years of oppression had smothered. I may just be a good ol' Kentucky boy, but if my voice counts for anything, I'd say we're doing a bang-up job. Semper Fi. Marine Cpl. Isaac D. Pacheco of Northern Kentucky enlisted in the Marines on Sept. 12, 2001, and arrived in Iraq last fall. He serves with the Combined Press Information Center in Baghdad. news.enquirer.com

To: LindyBill who wrote (95558)	1/17/2005 5:55:22 AM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793914

Why don't we give every primary caregiver, say, a $5,000 voucher (per year, per child) that can be used either for child care, the parent's own education, or retirement. Great. Let's just pay people to have kids. (Didn't we try that already? Unintentionally, of course. It was called "welfare," I believe... <g>)

To: LindyBill who wrote (95558)	1/17/2005 10:45:57 AM
From: Ilaine	Respond to of 793914

So the proper thing to do is simply to put a price tag on it. This is so creepy. The first thing I thought of, when I read about "traditional women who have three or more children but never work" was welfare mothers, the kind that have lots of children and never work, just suck off the government tit. We don't need more of that. What we do need more of is intact families, moms and dads that are married and stay married and raise families. I am not a fan of social engineering, period, but if you want to engineer something, figure out a way for one parent to stay home and take care of the kids while the other parent works. In the DC metro area, the most destructive thing to families, and this is probably true in most major metropolitan areas, is the terrible toll commuting takes in terms of time and stress. This is probably true of almost every "blue" area in America. In the heartland, if your job and your home are not the same place, it only takes a few minutes to get to work. And families stay intact. Coincidence? I think not.